By Byron Pedersen
From Spokane Dream Center
I have believed in God my whole life Ė but it doesnít mean Iíve always
walked with Him. When I was six years old living in California, I saw
Jesus in the clouds through my bedroom window. I was excited and
peaceful at the same time. I believed this was a normal encounter for
a six-year-old.
But things changed. By the age of 10, I was a heavy drug user. I was
very candid with my parents about my using and always told them to
pray for me. Through prayers, God moved a pastor into our neighborhood
just three doors away from our house. We hit it off right away and I
shared my addiction with him. I also shared my beliefs and all the
Jesus encounters. I knew Jesus was always knocking and pounding at my
door to come to Him but no one ever showed me how or taught me His
divine power. I struggled with adversity. The Christians I met growing
up had major issues and had nothing good to say. My drug use
continued.
In 1990, my wife and I were having a senseless argument. Even in my
drugged state, I knew that evil was present in our home. I grabbed
hold of my wife and called out to Jesus saying, ďJesus, Jesus, I need
you more than anything, please come into my life now!Ē With a loud
firecracker bang and a poof-like cloud, the room suddenly seemed to be
as white and clean as snow. Jesus has answered my prayer and kicked
the devil out.
Instantly we were sober and began attending a Bible study and were
baptized in a Pentecostal church. We both learned what a relationship
with Jesus was. I became zealous for the Lord and played drums in a
Christian band. I volunteered with Chuck Colsonís Prison Fellowship
ministry. When I was saved, I had zero Bible knowledge, but God filled
me with His words. All I needed to do was be obedient to Him and He
did all the rest.
There is much more to the story about how a close friendís tragedy
turned into the seed for a new ministry in California. And then after
many years, we were blessed by our miracle son, Zechariah, and we
moved to Idaho. In April 2012, we came across an ad for Behold Jesus
at the INB Theater and went to see the afternoon show.
The anointing from the Holy Spirit really moved us a lot. Tammy and I
looked at each other after scene eight, the heaven scene, and we were
both in tears. Going to the front, we met Pastors Dave and Alice
Darroch from Spokane Dream Center. We could feel their passion and
authenticity. I wanted to be part of this production.
The next year we were asked to be in the drama. I said yes, without
even knowing what we would be doing. Alice, the dramaís director,
asked me to portray John the Baptist. I couldnít say no, but my wife
and I had never acted before. All we could do was rely on Jesus to
help us.
I had been praying that some time for God to bring us more Christians
to connect with. Jesus answered our prayers and introduced us to a few
hundred Christians through the drama. Iíve watched my son, who is now
thirteen, grow immensely in his love for Christ. This is our fifth
year as cast members.
Spokane Dream Center is celebrating their 20th year of the Behold
Jesus drama. Not only is it a testimony to Godís faithfulness to them
as a church, but personally, it has caused me to stretch and grow in
my relationship with Jesus. I have believed in God my whole life, and
now I know what it means to walk with Him.